Outcry, protests as France enforces burkini ban

Shocking images of armed French police forcing Muslim women to strip on the beach have caused outrage and protests around the world.

Around 30 protesters demonstrated outside the French Embassy in London to condemn France's burkini clampdown, calling it an attack on women's rights.

France's highest administrative authority is studying whether local bans on full-body burkini swimsuits are legal, as the worldwide outcry continues.

Many believe the burkini bans in several French towns, based on a strict application of secularism policies, are worsening religious tensions.

On Twitter, people have pointed out the similarity in French police forcing Muslim women to take off clothes, to morality police in Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Islamic State forcing women to put on more clothes.

Others highlighted times in the past when male authority figures measured women's beach garments to ensure what they deemed to be decent, and the fact that a burkini is difficult to distinguish from a wetsuit.